Where LOVE is a 4-Legged Word

Esmae, Esau, and Parker reading to cats

BELMONT: The new SPCA, where LOVE is a 4-legged word, is a huge, energy efficient building full of cuddly, fancy rats; snugly, active kittens; and dogs of all ages and sizes ready to lick your face.

                It’s impressive. It’s always impressive when a small group of people works out a way to knock down problems, find grants and form committees that end up pushing not paper but progress as they turn an empty lot into hope.  More impressive – this group has been working for abused and neglected animals since it was founded in Cuba in 1911.

                The new facility at 5440 State Route 19 in Belmont has been gearing up for a few weeks to open to the public this month. It will be open 7 days a week from noon till 4. They have the same phone number (585-593-2299) and mailing address (P O Box 381, Wellsville 14895) to make reaching them easier.

                Linda Pruski, President of the Board of Directors, talked about the design of the building and credited Andrew Harris of Wellsville. When the SPCA started raising money for a new, undefined facility, Harris was the owner of Better Days in Wellsville. For a time, he dedicated a dollar from every order of chicken wings to the SPCA building fund and, eventually, that amounted to $6500.

                That chicken wing fundraiser paid for the services of Animal Arts, a design firm that focuses on the architecture of veterinary and animal shelter facilities. They design so that staff and volunteers who care for animals work smarter and better. The money was well spent, said Pruski, “It was the smartest thing we did.”

                At the direction of Animal Arts, the new SPCA has a large foyer with room for a receptionist, lots of people and a store. There are items made for resale such as shirts and magnets but also locally made items from by Fetching Fashions by Dawn in Wellsville and J & J Animal Products in Olean. You can find jackets, doggy diapers, neck scarves, and other items, with animal themed fabric or for animal use in a variety of sizes and colors with a portion of all sales going to the SPCA.

Esmae explaining a blue horse to a cat.

                An entire wing is for cats. Several rooms have groups of cats, all named, cute, and looking for homes. Each room has a window to the outer world, a cat gym and a covered litter box. If you would like to donate things to help them out, please note that they use wood pellets, the kind burned in stoves, in the litter boxes and not clay or corn based litter.

                There are a few cages moved from the old facility for temporary housing for cats needing to be kept quiet or isolated while healing from surgery or injury. When they can manage it, the cages will be replaced with a cat patio – a catio.

                There is a room for rodents. Are you aware of how popular rats are? These are called fancy rats and apparently college students like them to ride in their hoodies or in a sweatshirt pouch. Rats train easily, are social, and like to bond with people so offer a lot of company in a small package earning the title of pocket pals.

                The male and female rats at the SPCA are separated early in their lives since their interest in breeding begins early and American veterinarians discourage spaying for rodents though the surgery is done in the UK, should anyone ask.

                Female rats stay with female pups and the moms co-parent all pups. Rats are happier with company so they recommend adopting rats in pairs. A while ago someone in Niagara County was found to have 400 rats in poor circumstances and the Allegany County SPCA answered a call for help finding homes for 40 rats at first but having continued demands, they brought more to the shelter.

                There is a surgery area as well as an isolation area with its own dish washer and clothes washer and dryer to keep any contagions in check and there are laundry facilities and store rooms for feed and supplies.

Locally made items for sale

                 On the dog-side of the building each animal has its own room with bed and bowls and sometimes run in an indoor play area.  The play area was funded in memory of the late Pat O’Brien of Alfred, a lifelong friend of dogs. Dog rooms have windows into the hall,  not the outdoors as in the cat wing.

                There’s a meet and greet room for adopting families and animal to have a visit and see if they are meant to be together and the whole thing is heated with a geo thermal system to keep costs down.

                The facility still has 10 full time staff members as it did at the old facility and accepts the help of many volunteers, all necessary to make the shelter work. One thing that is making demands on the SPCA now is the fact that so many farm animals (goats, chickens, ducks, horses, cows, and a number of pregnant ewes) were rescued. The animals had to be held for some time to give them medical care but also were held as evidence. Now these animals are starting to go to homes.

                Some of these farm animals are at the old facility in Wellsville and others are at a borrowed barn in Scio where all feed and care has to be provided by the SPCA so there is a staff member on the road to tend them since the new building has no space for farm animals.

Parker and a rat 

                Caring for all these animals takes resources.  Of course, money is always needed since they run on donations and fundraisers and no government money. It’s a no kill shelter so some animals stay long term and they need someone to talk with or walk with but they also need food.

                The wish list also includes solar panels on the roof, a barn on site and outdoor play areas for dogs and one might not predict what else.  Forever homes are always needed and adopting an animal requires payment of a set fee to help with the costs. Each animal is spayed or neutered (when appropriate) and is given vet care including shots as well has having a micro chip inserted.

                A lot of the care for animals comes from the Alfred State College Vet Tech program and Dr. Doug Pierson who stops by weekly to check the animals. Some animals spend time at the college where students learn to care for them. The Vet Tech program is an essential part of the Allegany County SPCA and defines the quality of care given to animals.

                Volunteers are always needed at the shelter but they also ask for these things to fill their store rooms:  wood pellets for litter box use, blankets, paper towels, bleach for disinfecting, laundry soap,  hay for farm animals, Purina cat food, Purina kitten chow, and 4 Health dog food sold at Tractor Supply.

magnets for sale

Locally made cat toys

                Donations are always welcome. Send a check to P O Box 381 Wellsville, 14895 or donate by credit card at 585-593-2200 between noon and 4 pm any day. You may donate online with PayPal at www.spcaallegany.org. Your help will keep the SPCA going for another 100 years.

Hundreds question Tom Reed

ALLEN: Congressman Tom Reed spent last Saturday meeting constituents in a few small towns including at the Town Hall in Allen where people arrived early because the meeting was scheduled indoors, in a facility that seats only 49. Hoping to get in at 4, the queue formed at 2.  Voters wanted to express concerns, ask questions and listen to both their representative and fellow citizens.

                Unseasonal warmth melted snow turning the parking area into a gooey mire that little by little was filled with people who left their cars parked as much as 1/4 mile away on the road sides to stand between puddles or climb on a flatbed. An hour before the meeting started there were 90 people in line.

Jacob Elias 

                While waiting I talked with Jacob Elias, a graduate student at Cornell. With no meetings scheduled near Ithaca, he felt he had to drive to Allen to voice his support for funding the National Science Foundation.  With Elias was Rachel Fordise who was one among many worried about losing the ACA.

                As time passed, about 25 gathered around Trump/Pence signs. A few of them were concerned about “outsiders” being at the location. They felt that the meeting was for constituents in Allen and with so many people from Hornell, Bath, Geneseo, and Ithaca, local residents would be drowned out.  

                (The 23^rd Congressional District sprawls from Lake Erie to near Endicott, not on county or town lines but on party registration.)

                Shortly before Reed arrived, the crowd of about 400 sang Woody Guthrie’s This Land is Your Land. With the cooperative weather, Reed chose to stay outdoors as he had at earlier meetings. A megaphone was used by both Reed and questioners but at times words were lost in the wind, covered by boisterous shouts or drowned by booing.

                To begin, Reed led the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance with the crowd shouting the final words “with liberty and justice for all.” Reed then took the first question in which he was asked why he voted against demanding Donald Trump’s tax returns. While Reed said that Trump deserved his privacy the crowd shouted that they deserved to see what was being hidden.

                The second question was one of many about health care. People in the crowd shouted that they want to improve the ACA. Questions and shouts also made clear that these constituents want to preserve Medicare, to create a single payer healthcare system, and to allow bargaining with pharmaceutical companies to bring down the costs of prescriptions.

                Reed said, “Just so we’re clear. I’m going to stand for the repeal of the ACA in spite of your feelings.”

                When someone shouted, “You work for us.” Reed, smiling, declined to support universal health care or negotiated drug prices. He wants Medicaid to be available for those at 100% of the poverty level and thinks that people should put money into a health savings account. He supports offering birth control over the counter and keeping people on their parent’s insurance until they 26 but not the entire ACA.

                Reed wants older citizens to have a choice for their health care rather than continuing Medicare as it is. That statement drew shouts and boos. While Reed said that this would save Medicare people shouted that Medicare is not broken and that elderly can’t afford private insurance.

                Fred Sinclair, from Alfred, asked for Reed’s stance on DAPL, Keystone and NAPL pleading for support for the people being massacred at Standing Rock.  Reed said that he supported the construction of those pipelines and, later, added support for gas storage at Seneca Lake.

                Another environmentalist asked about the EPA and Reed said that he supported the EPA but felt that many regulations, particularly those regarding water, harmed farmers.

                A woman stated that half of the money donated to Reed’s election campaign came from healthcare, pharmaceutical and financial institutions, all based outside of the 23^rd Congressional District while donations from people like her accounted for only 3% of his funding. “Why should I believe that your positions are based on data and not donations?” she asked.

                Reed said that he didn’t know about his donations but high-spirited booing drowned the rest of his answer.   

                In response to questions about investigating Russia’s influence in the Republican Administration Reed said that there is no evidence. Many in the crowd shouted for the release of Trump’s taxes and toi “follow the money”.

                Fears about cutting Social Security bought out a self-identified “68 year old nasty woman”. She said that she paid and paid into SS as her children are paying and paying but she fears for their future.  Reed said that he is committed to changing SS to save it.  

                Several shouted, “Raise the FICA limit,” but it wasn’t clear that Reed heard them.

                When asked if Black Lives Matter, Reed said that all lives matter and someone shouted, “Then refugees should matter.” When asked how the Dreamers can be helped, Reed said that he hoped there could be a path forward for those young people while someone in the crowd shouted, “Arrest and deportation will work.”

                When Reed announced that he had to leave, the crowd applauded dispersing in groups toward their vehicles but Gary Ostrower, former Mayor of Alfred and Reed’s college history professor, stepped up to shake his hand.

                Later Ostrower said, “First of all, you’ve got to give Tom Reed credit for showing up. There are scores of congress people who are cancelling these kinds of things precisely because they are fearful of controversy. Second, he’s not an ideologue in the way that Lamar Smith and others are. Tom will talk and will listen so I feel a personal loyalty to him that I don’t feel for the Republican Administration and I’ve been a Republican for 50 years.”

Symphonic Band Concert

 ALFRED: Alfred University’s Performing Arts Department attracts students from all areas of study. Many students choose Alfred because they can continue their experiences in performing arts without committing to the rigors of a performance major or minor. Three such students, Kyle Merrifield, Katie Weiss and Jay Horwath, talked with me about their musical experiences as they prepared for the
Alfred University Symphonic Band Concert. (Friday, December 9, 7:30 pm Miller Performing Arts Center. Admission is free and open to all.
                Kyle came to Alfred from Amherst, NY to study Renewable Energy Engineering.  He chose Alfred because it was close to home, because he could continue to participate in instrumental performances and because he could compete in his high school sports – bowling, tennis and volleyball.
                Kyle began his musical career, like so many others, in fourth grade. He chose percussion because percussionists play several instruments. Mallets are his favorite. During some rehearsals Kyle will jam a set of mallets under an arm as he plays with a different set. Suddenly, he will switch mallets and zip over to a different instrument or he’ll hammer a chime.
                Kyle said the different mallets give different sounds. A harder mallet compares with woodwinds playing staccato while a softer mallet creates the legato articulation.
                Kyle played percussion from 4th through 12th grade but also picked up the French Horn in 7th grade just for the experience. While in high school, Kyle traveled to Chicago and Washington DC to compete in symphonic band competitions and do some sightseeing. He said it was always interesting to hear several groups play the same piece and have all sound different.
                One great thing about AU is that Kyle is able to be a die-hard football fan and a percussionist at the same time. Kyle bangs on the drums with the Pep Band at all home football games.
                For the upcoming concert, he notes that My Shot from the musical Hamilton is his favorite piece. For that piece he will set aside mallets to give his first rap performance on a stage. His only other public rap was the conclusion of a presentation on geothermal energy. That rap, a big hit in class, was his own creation.
                After graduation Kyle will work in the solar or wind industry. Right now there are more people employed in renewable energy fields than in fossil fuels.
                “I’m thankful for the opportunities to continue in performance arts here at Alfred. My life goal is to be well a rounded individual and my experiences in athletics and music help me attain that.“
               Katie came to Alfred from Rome, NY to major in Bio-materials Engineering. She hopes to help design new and better orthopedic medical implants. She told me that the research & developing in joints is constant. Doctors want implants that are easier to insert and everyone wants them to last longer and work better.
     Engineers work with an array of materials and try to improve attachment systems.  Implants are used to replace aging arthritic joints but also to replace joints damaged by traumatic injury.   

         Katie will play French Horn in the concert and you’ll hear her on some solos. She regularly plays trumpet with Pep Band, sometimes plays French Horn in the orchestra and always plays Tuba in "Tuba Christmas."
      Tuba Christmas is a national organization that helps to arrange regional groups to perform in December. The group has only tubas, euphoniums and baritones (essentially little tubas). She has played with groups of about 40 members but hopes to play with the New York City group one year. That group draws a few hundred performers.
                Katie chose Alfred because it is a small community and AU offered the program she wanted. She was attracted by the fact that she could play in the musical groups here because rehearsal times give her a break from study.
        As an added bonus, she met Scott DiFranco-Norton. Scott recruited her for pep band student but that was just the start of their time together. They were recently engaged and will live in Mahwah, NJ, where Katie will work, after they marry in June.
                In this concert, Katie’s favorite piece is Star Wars. Katie is a Star Wars fan. In high school, she and her best friends would make costumes and go to the films. Her favorite character is 3CPO so Katie's nickname is KTPO.
                Katie said, “Music is my source of sanity here. It gives me a break from study  and is totally different from my normal class work.”
     Jay is one of the rare students who did not start music lessons in 4th grade. Instead, this senior in glass engineering with a chemistry minor started working with a trumpet in 8th grade.
       In the summer before eighth grade, Jay went to his grandfather's house to help clean out a closet. Jay had been fooling around with a guitar but wanted to start taking lessons.  That day, they dug his Grand Dad's trumpet of the closet. It was the perfect time for a first trumpet lesson.
      Jay chose to attend AU because of the glass engineering program but the fact that he could play in Symphonic Band, Jazz Band, Pit Band and Orchestra without competing with music majors was a bonus.
    Jay said, "Having the opportunity to do so much with music has made me more rounded. Working with and learning from people with different perspectives has been a another benefit of my music experience."
     Jay's favorite piece in the December concert is Olympic Fanfare.  He likes it because it's challenging and fun as well as familiar because of the number of times it was played during the recent Olympic Games.

       Jay is planning on graduate school in the Philadelphia area, near his family's home in Doylestown. There are many community musical groups there and Jazz is particularly popular.     Jay told me about his 2 trumpets. They are both brass but one has a higher copper content and makes a darker sound so is more suitable for jazz. The voice of a trumpet is impacted by the metal as well as by the tightness of the curves. Two trumpets might look the same but sound different.

       Whichever trumpet he plays, you'll be impressed. The concert will be at 7:30 on December 9 in the Miller Performance Hall.

Driving Mid County - Scio to Angelica by going East

ALLEGANY COUNTY: While the Tourism Board calls this the Mid-Country Driving Tour, it could be called the Green Fields and Neighbors Tour. That’s how our 6 hours and 61 miles spent driving and walking on the tour felt. We came home with hand screened T-shirts, sausage, Red Curry squash, spinach, bagels, pancake mix, brownies and lots of news from folks we found.

            Generally my husband Rick does the driving and I write but he wasn’t available so my friend, Joanne Allen, came along. It is suggested that the tour start in Scio and head toward Friendship, but we started in Scio and aimed for Alfred to catch the last of their farmer’s market.

            I travel the Vandermark Road twice a week to rehearse with the AU Symphonic Band so that road, for me, means watching for deer and thinking of my destination but this time I made sure to focus on what the road passes.   

Scio Playground

            Just after the turn, I had to note with appreciation that the Scio community came together to provide for their neighbors. They put a charming bronze sculpture in front of the school and, across the street in Fireman’s Park, they built an inviting picnic pavilion that may be reserved at the clerk’s office. There is a playground, a ball diamond, and a tennis court with parking for events on both sides of the road. The school, Lion’s Club and Fire Department blended resources admirably.

            The Vandermark holds cabins, houses, farms, and green fields with white sheep or black cattle. There’s a farm house for sale on Waugh Brook Road where recent rains created mud enough to coat my cars and others. Two favorite named places on the Vandermark are Uncle Cooter’s Farm and Whiskey River Farms (where birds are always on the roof of the tailored barn).

            The Vandermark State Forrest hosts public hiking trails and the Philips Creek State Forest stretches from Vandermark to groomed hiking, skiing and horse trails. Turning right to pass the Vander View Golf Course and enter Alfred, one passes a Palliser house. This is one of many houses built around the country in the 1800s after people checked the Palliser catalog, found a pleasing house, and purchased the plans. Many such houses have a tower, porch and a touch of gingerbread.

Palliser House

            We took this detour to shop at The Rogue Carrot, a store that may forever be Kinfolk to me. It’s the natural grocery store in Alfred where everyone goes for local produce and now more and more locally made art. Several huge ceramic pieces are on hand as well as functional pottery, soaps, cutting boards and jewelry.

            What’s the most popular item at Rogue Carrot? Bananas for smoothies are a hit with students but just now there’s a run on cider and cider-donuts unless it’s Thursday. Thursday is all about fish and bagels delivered by Jessen. Eat well. Get clean. Feel good. It’s all there 7 days a week.

            We stopped at the Alfred Farmer’s Market on Main Street where we heard live music from the Decker and Ruch families making it easier to dance some warmth into one’s damp-chilled extremities.  We tried some of Mascho Homestead Farms’s sausage and heard about the heritage turkeys from Chilson’s in Belmont then admired Robin Kellogg’s work - Kellogg's Alpacas. Near her knit and felted work was a penned in mamma and baby alpaca accepting grass from the fingers of slightly wary college students. Kellogg’s Alpacas will be open on November 14 & 15.

feeding alpaca

            Back on the trail we found the location of the old fire tower on Route 244. It seems to be a communications tower now. In the old days one could climb to look around but now a gate and lock indicate a new attitude.

Canacadea Country Store

            Next we passed the Country Cabin Bed and Breakfast, a business that supports local artisans by using locally made pottery and art work in the rooms and kitchen. And just down the road is the Alfred State Farm. Keep November 17 open because from 4-6:30 students will meet you near the green houses at the Agricultural Building and bus you to the farm for a tour. The organic farm is making news in agricultural education.

            We turned left onto Route 21 and stopped at the Canacadea Country Store in Alfred Station where Laurie Lang was selling candies and coffees and then found the Quest Farm Produce stand open so bought more fall produce there. Quest will be open till Christmas with local pasta, organic meats, whole grains, and produce.

Quest Farm Produce

        If you don't know this, learn it now. Friday is Pieday at the Tinkertown Hardware. Stop by for hardware, breads, pie and cookies.

            We turned left at the signs to Route 86 in Almond but passed by the highway to find cemeteries, farms and huge barns – some standing proudly and some just reminders of the past. Near the western side of Angelica are the remainders of the old county poor house or work house and the home of Major Moses Van Campen, circa 1808.

            If you aren’t in a hurry and haven’t been there lately travel all the way around the town circle and look at the restoration work that has gone into making the buildings there shine with history. We parked on Main Street and spent some time in one of the shops. The Angelica Country Store and Antiques which boasts that they have the state’s largest collection of vintage costume jewelry and it would be hard to imagine any store with more. There are drawers and trays and racks and hangers of every style and color of costume jewelry for fingers or toes, necks or wrists or just to dangle from your ears.

Angelica Sweet Shop

            A visit at the Angelica Sweet Shop for a cup of hot chocolate and a visit with Karen Ash was next. We heard about the ongoing success of the Angelica Community Radio station. They broadcast 7 nights a week and their signal will reach further when they get the rest of the equipment installed. Getting the radio on the air has been a huge project.

            We made a left at the American House and Hotel and passed the homes of the Bromley/Daggets went to the other side of Route 19 to see the charming Episcopal Church. The driving tour continues to Friendship and back but it was getting late. Businesses in Angelica were already closed so we just headed home to cook squash and try on those T-Shirts.

           

           

           

 References: On Facebook:  The Rogue Carrot, The Holly Trail, Tinkertown Hardware, Alfred Farmer’s Market, Angelica Sweet Shop, Mascho Homestead Farms, Kellogg’s Alpacas, Quest Farm Produce, Angelica Country Store and Antiques, Angelica Community Radio

Box: Visit the Allegany County Chamber of Commerce and Office of Tourism at the Crossroads Commerce Center, 6087 State Route 19N in Belmont. Call 800-836-1869 to request brochures.  Publications include Scenic Drives, Festivals and Events, Historic Allegany County and Hunting & Fishing. They also have brochures from local businesses and organizations. Their website is DiscoverAlleganyCounty.com.

Fred and Susan Beckhorn, Allegany Artisans.

WHITESVILLE: I expected to learn and to be impressed when visiting Allegany Artisans, Susan and Fred Beckhorn, in Whitesville this September. They are, I believe, creative, knowledgeable, dedicated, sprouting with hundreds of ideas and interested in thousands of things.

                First Fred Beckhorn showed me around his studio, previously a sugar shack with an addition for workspace and a showroom. He’s created an exhibit of live edge wood slabs in the shop (Live edge means that the side of the log is the edge of the wood so it follows the bumps, bulges and curves of the tree, as it grew.) so that people can choose wood for commissioned pieces but there are also finished tables, beds, mirrors, lamps and benches.

                I asked Fred what his favorite wood was and he went to a small display on a workbench – an illustration of his answer. Maple is the wood and variation the reason. Maple can be quilted, curly, birds eye, line eye and ingrown bark with variations on all of those. Blocks of each type not only illustrate new words but invite touch. The wood looks textured but feels sleek. Maple deserves a call out.

                Fred remembers a bowl he made at the age of 10 using his father’s gouge as his first wood project. Fred’s father was an electrician who taught at Alfred State College but spent his spare time working with wood and lots of other things.

                Fred’s early jobs included farm hand and carpenter and he gave himself a lot of on the job training building a house with his wife Susan in the 80s. In 1994 he took a wood design and a wood carving class at the School of Art and Design, Alfred University. By 1996 his work was offered under the name Natural Form Furniture and he moved from making the occasional bed and table to a full time dedication to designing furniture and sculpture in the reworked sugar shack.

                Fred doesn’t favor one particular tool or focus on a certain piece of furniture. His work is one of a kind, tailored to a certain piece of wood. He has hand tools, power tools and ideas that transform this organic material into both cozy/ contemporary furniture for decades of use and appreciation.

                Fred finds cedar in New Hampshire around the family’s summer camp and uses it to make mirror frames, lamps, beds and whatever it seems the wood was meant to be. I was also taken with two sculptural pieces made from whole trees sandblasted to expose the hard, flowing, inner wood.

                He finds burls and local hardwoods on the land which is worked sustainably. There’s a permaculture project to grow American Chinese Chestnuts, not to produce wood but for a crop of large chestnuts.  Other trees grow pawpaws, mulberries and persimmons.

                Fred Beckhorn’s work is at NaturalFormFurniture.com. He has hours by appointment and will work with people to select the perfect slab for their table or bench or work to design a lamp that will suit a special space. Call 607-356-3700 to arrange to see his work or visit during the Studio Tour.

                At the same location, you’ll find Susan Williams Beckhorn - illustrator, singer, watercolorist, teacher and published children’s author.

                When people say they’ve written a book, what they likely mean is that they had an idea that started in their heads, grew in their hearts and matured in their minds until it was worthy of the vast effort of placing a rough version of it on paper, digital or old-school pads.

                One of Susan’s books started with wondering over a Luna moth on a screen at summer camp. The moth seemed like a magical fairy that chose her for company. As a 7^th grader, she labored over the story in a notebook and brought it to school. Over the decades, her story grew, changed and flourished until it became a children’s novel Sarey by Lantern Light.

                Now, when Susan presents workshops for children, she takes her first handwritten version of the story to schools. She feels that it demonstrates the value of a child’s work. Her child’s story became a real book. So can theirs.

                She remembers making up a song about a rooster on the way to Lincoln School. She sang it for Miss Cunningham, the principal who graciously applauded the proud second grader and years later came to celebrate Susan’s first book at a signing party.  

                All of her books are about animals, children and other touches of nature. Susan grew up in a woodsy area north of Boston where friends owned ponies and children got dirty. She spent summers at camp in New Hampshire and still goes there. She loves fantasy, children and nature.

                In the studio are copies of all 6 published books but, on the day I visited, in her excited hand was an uncorrected proof of her 7^th book sent to her by Disney-Hyperion and scheduled to be available for your hands in June 2016. She gave me a glimpse of the behind the scenes part of the book, The Wolf’s Boy.

                Susan spent over a year reading and rereading every picture book, chapter book, middle school book and young adult book she could find about dogs. She looked into the theories concerning the domestication of dogs and studies of dog and wolf behavior.

                She went to workshops - Writing for Boys and The Heart of the Novel for example. These workshops were short (expensive) intense sessions, followed by months of writing, rewriting and feedback and then another group session. She has also long attended local critique groups and, of course, spends hours writing, reading her work aloud to herself and rewriting.

                Mark Derr, author of How The Dog Became The Dog, corresponded with her to help choose a setting for The Wolf’s Boy. He felt that China, the Middle East, and parts of Europe were likely places where the first dogs might have joined humans. She chose to place her story in southeastern France and so traveled there with Fred to visit areas with ancient cave paintings and to actually go inside of some of the caves that have been opened to the public. She needed to see the caves and feel the area around them in order to understand what her characters would see in the story.

                On that trip, she and Fred went to the Neanderthal museum in Germany to build awareness of early people. Clearly, The Wolf’s Boy represents years of research and effort to capture and build the story but that’s only one side.

                The other side, the harder part, is marketing. It sounded like the sort of thing that requires one to plaster on a smile and boot one’s self out the door. Some people find making connections with agents, publishers and other writers at conferences helpful. Her website, SueBeckhorn.com, has information regarding this side of the effort but she does not offer direct assistance to other writers.

                Some of Susan’s books are now out of print but she has copies of all of them to sell and autograph during the Studio Tour. She is available for workshops and presentations with details at on her website with links from AlleganyArtisans.com.

                Visit Fred and Sue Beckhorn on Irish Hill Road in Rexville. They will be open for a preview on Friday, October 16 from 5-8 pm as well as during the regular 28^th Studio Tour hours from 10-5 on Saturday  and Sunday, October 17 & 18. Find directions to all the studios at AlleganyArtisans.com or call the Allegany County Office of Tourism at 800-836-1869 and ask to have one mailed to you.

Scenic Driving Tour, Lake Country

FRIENDSHIP: We didn’t know what we would find on the Lake Country Tour but in a few miles we started calling it the fall foliage/ winding motorcycle road/ pumpkins and tractors tour. When the leaves fully turn, it will truly be a gorgeous drive with even more pumpkins for sale along the road.

                The Allegany County Scenic Drives brochure proposes that drivers start the Lake Tour in Friendship and head toward Cuba on Route 20 and there are some blue road signs to show the way but we had morning errands to do northward and so started in Friendship but headed toward Belfast on County Road 17. At that intersection is a sign advertising Nightmare Hay Rides in Ellicottville, celebrating 25 years of spookiness. That sign may have put us in the mood for fall.

                As for Route 7, I’m calling it Metal Roof Road. The 14 mile stretch we covered had 31 metal roofs. We acquired a metal roof a few years ago and understand how significant such an investment is. These were dark green, bright blue and functional black roofs. Some old building roofs were past their gleaming prime and closer to rusty charm but those weren’t included in my count.

Round hay bales were in fields and piled in
farmyards. These are for sale and ready to deliver.

                The hills along Route 7 were getting glints of gold and some sparks of red. Rick declared that Route 7 and several other roads were, “good motorcycle roads with turns to lean into.” Many were newly paved and smooth roads with clean yellow lines are always inviting.

                We saw signs for “White Creek Honey” and “Ducks For Sale” near a truckload of round hay bales and Amish children swarming over the swing set in front of their school. Many Amish Buggy signs are posted there.

                Outside of Belfast, we stopped at On The River Farms where we met Steve DeMarte. This farm stand offers cut flowers, corn, pumpkins, squash, beets, potatoes and other produce in addition to processed beef and pork and eggs- chicken or duck. Call 716-560-5594 or check  facebook.com/OnTheRiverFarms for updated lists.  

               We learned that years ago there were 30+ dairy farms along Route 19 in Allegany County with plenty more elsewhere. Back then, DeMarte said, a person could get along on 70% of the monthly milk check, no worries. Now small farmers are losing money, spending more to produce milk than they can sell it for, and letting their cow herds gradually disappear.

                He also talked about testing soil, spoke about good and bad points on both sides of the GMO (genetically modified organisms) debate and about how he’d like to turn his milk into value added products rather than selling it outright. Cuba, after all, once set cheese prices for the entire US.

                Taking off with what only one of us thinks of kindly (Hubbard squash) we headed toward Belfast. A person might go to the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame in Belfast but it is necessary to make prior arrangements with Scott Burt at 585-610-3326 or by going to facebook.com/Bare-Knuckle-Boxing-Hall-of-Fame.

                There are some nice antique shops on Main Street in Belfast as well as many places to eat. For plants, there is garden stand north of town. Bob’s Barn is at the intersection of Route 49 where we turned left to continue our tour while on the right was an access point to the Genesee River, part of the Genesee River Wilds project.

                We drove past The Lodge, Joe and Nancy Fusco’s Bed and Breakfast where guests can take hot air balloon rides from the front door. The Lodge is also a great place to stay if one is going to Letchworth State Park, newly named as USA Today’s Reader’s Choice, Best State Park in America.

Rushford Lake

                Route 49 winds past Rushford Lake where hundreds of lucky people have cottages and boats. The picnic area near the lake looked like it was open to the public but we couldn’t be sure. On the roads we passed mowers, tractors, harvesters and things we call manure-cannons. We were at leisure but we passed many working people.

                When we returned from our errands off the trail we had a hard time finding the place to jump back on, perhaps in part because we were going backwards. We turned south on Centerville Road which turned into 7B and passed the Cuba Rushford School and the Allegany Hills Golf Course.

Tractor line up that caught our eye.

                The driving map indicates a County Road 47 but we actually went south on Cattaraugus’ County Road 46.  Just after passing a huge iron pot and a little church and cemetery, we saw a line of bright red Massy Harris tractors on a front lawn.

                Intrigued, we knocked on the door when there was a pause in the vacuum cleaner rumble and we were happily directed to Roger who was mowing out back.

                Roger J Clark stopped his mowing and said that he always had 2 ½ hours to give anyone interested in his tractors. “You’d be surprised,” he said, “how fast time goes when talking tractors.”

                At the age of 9, the young Mr. Clark, drove his first Massy Harris tractor on his uncle’s farm. By the time he was in high school, he was working on the Priday Farm where 2 Massey Harris tractors rumbled over the fields. One was a 4 cylinder that could run all day on a tank of gas but the other was a thirsty 6 cylinder that demanded a refill at lunch time.

What some of the tractors looked like when acquired.

                He told us about his life as an independent wool purveyor working with Mr Priday who changed from farming to wool trading later in his life. In about 1972, Priday sold his farm to Clark lock-stock- and barrel with part of the deal being those tractors.

                Decades later, Roger Clark retired from farming and just 5 years ago started collecting Massey Tractors. Newspaper ads helped him find his first tractors but now people know he is interested and they call him. He’s in local and national tractor clubs, even Massy Harris tractor clubs.

                All the tractors are a little different – equipment, year, design. Clark often knows a tractor’s history and gives a tour of the line of finished tractors in front of his house. Off to the side are some works-in-progress where he clearly sees the gems under the rust.

                Roger Clark lives at 7578 Rawson Road in Cuba and he invites all to stop and visit. He’d rather you stop after 10 am but he is not opposed to coming out earlier than that to talk tractor in his nightshirt.

Fingerprint kit at Antique Mart
Water Street, Cuba

                After leaving those red tractors we came to Cuba Lake. Generally we travel there with our bikes and take a turn around the lake. Today we stopped at Mak’s Meats and then the Antique Mart on Water Street. If there is an amateur detective inside you, you may be interested in the professional fingerprint kit on the second floor.

At the Cheese Museum,
Palmer Opera House

                 Our other stop was the Palmer Opera House. Wow. It’s fantastic. Eat there or shop but be amazed at the detail in the building and check out the cheese museum too (with a copper pot twice the size of the formerly impressive iron pot). This building is a testament to the volunteers who worked so hard to bring it back to life.

Mike, at Mike and Jen's Garden Stand

                On our way back to the starting point in Friendship, we stopped at Mike and Jen’s Garden Stand. Open daily with food that they grew as well as food they get at the Centerville auction. The stand operates on the honor system and Mike and Jen appreciate the honesty of their customers. We bought pumpkins and peppers and wished them luck with the new greenhouse that may keep the stand going into November.

                Because of our detour, we didn’t accurately measure the length of the drive. Near 50 miles is a guess. We spent about 6 hours driving and visiting but a person could stretch it out to days by shopping more, roaming museums, reading stones in cemeteries, visiting the wonderful Libraries in Cuba and Friendship and seeing the Cuba Block Barn.

Scenic Drive, Oil County Tour

BOLIVAR: On a blue-skied September day, my husband Rick and I gathered snacks and took off for “Oil Country,” one of the 6 Allegany County driving tours.

                We chose to start as suggested on Route 417 in Bolivar, traveling clockwise on the route. This meant that we drove from our home in Wellsville through Allentown where we stopped at the Allentown Antique Mart.

                It’s not necessary to name names or admit guilt but someone had the unhappy experience of breaking the lid on Grandma Bonnie’s glass candy dish so we’ve been checking flea markets and the like on the off chance that some unhappy soul broke a similar dish and set the lid out for sale.

                We found a basket full off surviving lids for candy dishes and casseroles but none were right. Rick found a vintage vise that we hope will be an appreciated Christmas gift and I found some odd jewelry pieces that will work into earrings.

                The Allentown Antique Mart is open Monday through Friday, 10-4.  Your company there would be appreciated and you might find a treasure for yourself. The entire second floor is now on sale for 50% off.

Don and Pauline King with their work.

                Then, being in Allentown, we took a second detour to the home of Don and Pauline King. Don, a wood turner, is a member of the Allegany Artisans but we had never seen his studio. When I called from the Antique Mart, they were both home.

                We thought we would find them in minutes but followed the directions from our smart phone so went an extra few miles. Don and Pauline live on White Hill Road #1, an address that baffles navigation systems (Don has stories!) so if you go to see Don’s turnings during the Studio Tour on October 17 & 18, just turn on White Hill Road #1, across from the old school, and go up the hill until you see Don’s signs on the left.   

                We were lucky to find them since they often spend afternoons on a four-wheeler trundling the over 10 miles of dirt roads on their wooded hill. They search for burls and downed trees that Don turns into bowls.

                Don started by chiseling bowls. His first bowl is a sturdy oval on the kitchen counter. The second is a large dough bowl. Both of these were laboriously chiseled one hammer blow at a time. While both are beautiful pieces, Don’s family invested in a lathe for him so his bowls are now round.

                Pauline takes what she calls Don’s wood scraps and paints them, often with roosters or with fruit or flowers.  Pauline is an interior designer who was working with Don’s daughter who worked a little match/making magic between them.  She is also a trombonist and we have played together in summer bands over the years. Music and art often mix.

                We tore ourselves away since we hadn’t yet gotten to our official starting point an hour after leaving home. Our task was to look at Allegany County rather than just speed past it so, in that sense, we were always on track.

                We arrived in Bolivar and turned left to take the tour. Fittingly, the Pioneer Oil Museum on Main Street is at the start of Oil Country. The museum was closed for us but will be open to all on October 3 & 4 (10am to 3 pm) as part of the Allegany County Museum Trail. Eighteen museums and historical societies around Allegany County are scheduled to participate in the event. Many are free.

                We passed a hearing aid shop, a bridal store, the curiously named Horse Run Road and the busy Bolivar Country Club. Directions in the brochure are to turn at the end of the Country Club onto County Route 5 but don’t be tricked. The first right turn is County Route 5C, marked with 2 easy-to-read signs. The second road, with a sign not visible until the turn is made, is County Route 5. Every turn we made revealed locations with fire wood for sale.

Snowmobile Trail at scenic overlook

                After the turn is a small park with swings, charcoal grills and a picnic table in a small pavilion. On the other side of the street is a private home with a gazebo graced with a telephone booth and rail road crossing sign.

Overlook on Daggett Hollow

                The trail map indicates a Scenic Overlook on Daggett Hollow Road. We stopped at a large, mowed parking area with a tall, white wooden cross and hiked down two trails. It might have been an overlook when the trees were small but it isn’t now.

                The trail near the cross is posted as private property but also has round snowmobile trail markers. Snowmobilers also have a blue arrow pointing left where another trail goes into the woods but it seems all woods, not overlook.

A model of Main Street inside
Sloppy Joe's Deli

                We brushed off mud and seeds and got back in the car to get to Sloppy Joe’s Deli, soon to celebrate its 24^th birthday.  Sloppy Joe’s hosts live music on Tuesday nights and every morning there are folks who have crossed from customers to friends to family, all drinking coffee and talking.

Barn Sale

                The barn out back is open daily. If you need a pink accordion, this is your place. There is also a beautiful, little English sewing machine from about 1890 and a Larkin desk in addition to the more ordinary glass, china, books, decorations, and what-nots. Again, their candy dish lids weren’t a fit for us.  

                We missed the right turn onto Route 1 but came back to it shortly and then did a detour to Mt. Irenaeus, part of the St. Bonaventure ministry. Mt. Irenaeus is a Contemplative Center not open to the public except for their Sunday morning service.

                Roman Catholic Mass is held in the Chapel at 11 am and followed by a dish to pass brunch. Attendance can be large in spring and summer but sparse in winter though Brother Lewis said that the Town of Wirt is super about keeping the unpaved road plowed for them.

Mt Irenaeus Lodge

                Brother Lewis sat with us on the porch of the main house and we talked about the Pope’s Philadelphia visit, the perils of gardening among voracious deer and the enormous appetites of the St. Bonaventure Women’s Swim Team.

                Back on Route 1, we found “Times Square” and “Fifth Avenue” in the town of Wirt and then returned to our starting point in Bolivar after 3 hours and 42 miles, an extra 20 miles of exploration.

                The Allegany County Office of Tourism and Culture offers the Scenic Drives brochure in addition to those focused on History, Hunting and Fishing, Outdoor Sports, Artisans, and Events. All of these can help you appreciate hidden pockets of Allegany County. Call 1-800-836-1869 or find information at DiscoverAlleganyCounty.com.

Our map - 1 is where we walked around a bit, 2 is
the side trip to Mt. Ireneaus and 3 is our wrong
turn.